Kramer's Approach To Selling

In one early episode of Seinfeld, Kramer tries to convince George to move to California (it was in the episode The Keys, if you are a big Seinfeld fan or want to look it up on Youtube). Kramer had the “acting bug” and wanted George to join him as he pursued his new passion. But when Kramer floated the idea by George, he vehemently resisted. In George’s mind, he was living his life to the fullest and had no reason to leave New York. This is where the selling began.

What would you do if you were trying to convince someone to move to California?

Focus on the benefits of the weather, the life, etc.? Do a SWOT analysis on LA vs. NY so you can come up with your positioning strategy?

That’s wasn’t Kramer’s approach, and I think we can all learn something from the way he influenced George to rethink his position.

We pick up the scene after George has passionately declared his lack of interest in relocating because of his wonderful life in NY. “I’m not wasting my life (in New York). I am LIVING my life,” he states – pounding the table at the famous diner. But Kramer doesn’t push back. He just calmly leans across the table and begins asking a few questions about George’s life as if to honestly collaborate on whether or not George should reconsider:

• Do you have a job?

• Do you have any prospects?

• Do you have a woman?

• Do you have any money?

• Do you have reason for even getting up in the morning?

As George begins to answer those questions, “no”…”no”…”no”…”no”…” and no” his whole demeanor changes. He goes from passionately defending his position that his life is amazing to “I have a huge problem.” Because of Kramer’s questions, his hidden or unconscious problems become a felt problem.

I know it’s a TV show, and Kramer is probably a bit insane, but this is a great illustration of what most of us miss when determining our Discovery Objectives – the list of problems we solve. See, Kramer had a clearly defined list of problems he wanted to explore: lack of life purpose, job, relationships and money. And by having his list of problems defined, he knew where to focus when the person he was trying to influence was unaware of the problem.

Let’s apply it to your world.

What problems do you solve? Your product/service/solution was developed to solve very specific problems. Those problems can be identified and listed. Do you have the list? If so, do you know which problems are typically unknown by the decision maker, due to a lack of experience, or ignored when considering the best solution? If not, this is the most important category to define.

When you expose hidden problems, you send a clear message to the decision-maker – “you know something I don’t. I need you to make sure we do this right.” They are led to the realization that if they missed _____ (undiscovered problem), what else have they missed? Simply put, it positions you as a trusted partner that needs to be PART of the decision making team.

If you do this right, you will be perceived as having the most viable solution.

“Just by asking questions to expose hidden problems?” you may ask skeptically. Yes, because the customer believes the one who best understands the problem is the most qualified to solve the problem. Don’t miss that. When you understand and lead the customer through a process where they examine all of the problems they may encounter, you instantly differentiate yourself from other reps just pitching a solution. You are now a sales rep consulting on a problem. And they will believe you are the most qualified to address their problems.